The University of Tennessee moved up to No. 4 in the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll after beating Alabama, while Memphis moved up two spots to No. 16
The biggest games of the week in men’s college basketball reside in the Southeastern Conference.
Seems to be a recurring theme this season.
It make sense given the league that was once synonymous solely with football has four of the nation’s top six teams in the AP Top 25, led for the seventh consecutive week by No. 1 Auburn. And that the league’s eight total teams in the rankings are nearly double any other conference; the Big 12 is next with three in the top 10 and five total in the poll.
But the focus this week can be narrowed even further: the state of Alabama.
The Tigers (25-2, 13-1), who have won four straight since a loss to Florida, begin a brutal four-game stretch that would have been entirely against ranked teams had Mississippi not fallen out on Monday. Auburn faces the Rebels on Wednesday night before going to No. 17 Kentucky on Saturday, with No. 12 Texas A&M and No. 6 Alabama awaiting the following week.
Speaking of the Crimson Tide, they enter the week tied with the third-ranked Gators for second in the SEC, two games behind their biggest rival. Alabama (22-5, 11-3) faces No. 24 Mississippi State on Tuesday night and visits No. 5 Tennessee on Saturday, part of a run of seven straight against ranked teams with the Gators and Auburn on deck next week.